Magdaleno vs. Dogboe is Shifted To April 28 on ESPN

By Rick Reeno

Frank Espinoza, manager for WBO super bantamweight champion Jessie Magdaleno (25-0, 18 KOs), has advised BoxingScene.com that his fighter will now headline his own ESPN card on April 28th in Philadelphia.

Espinoza has yet to be advised on the venue. Philadelphia fighters Jesse Hart and Bryant Jennings are both slated for the undercard.

Magdaleno will be making a mandatory defense of his title against undefeated Isaac Dogboe (18-0, 12 KOs) of Ghana.

Magdaleno vs. Dogboe was initially scheduled to take place on April 14 on ESPN, as part of the undercard to Terence Crawford vs. Jeff Horn, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

But as BoxingScene.com reported earlier, Crawford suffered a hand injury that scrapped the entire event.

"When I first heard that the entire April 14th card was off, I was really upset because Jessie has been out of the ring since last April and he really wants to get in there to kick this guy's ass for the comments he made," Espinoza told BoxingScene.com.

"But after Top Rank told me that Jessie would headline on his own date, I'm beyond happy - and now Jessie gets to kick this guy's ass all over Philadelphia. After what Jessie does to this guy, he's going to regret the day he got on the plane to leave Ghana."

Espinoza and Magdaleno are still steaming after Dogboe's father and trainer made some controversial statements in a recent overseas interview.

"We are focused and our only mission is to devour him, eat the crazy chicken, throw him over the wall of Mexico and present the title to Donald Trump. Magdaleno will run when he sees Isaac," Dogboe Sr. told The Pulse of Ghana.

"We hope Magdaleno will not run like a chicken, we hope he makes the weight and come in with no excuses because we are ready for him. We are ready to eat him like a chicken, make him run like a poyoloco."

The last time Magdaleno saw action in the ring was in last April, when he knocked out Adeilson Dos Santos in two rounds. Dogboe knocked out Cesar Juarez to secure the WBO's interim-title and the mandatory shot.